COVID-19 or SARS-CoV-2 has no cure. But shockingly, some newspaper ads and digital ads from well known brands promised to help you fight the novel coronavirus, or indirectly cure you. The Advertising Standard Council of India (ASCI) did a study and picked up 332 advertisements for scrutiny and found that only 12 could substantiate that they have any benefit to offer in terms of Covid-19. How are false claims made by brands tracked and dealt with in India? BOOM Explains.
Manisha Kapoor, Secretary General, ASCI, says that one of the things that ASCI has believed right from the beginning is that the advertising ecosystem must come together and not just the advertiser or the advertising agencies. Media and broadcasters are an essential part of that ecosystem. Through the Cable and Television Network Act, the ad that violates an ASCI guideline cannot legally be shown on TV. So there is both a moral and legal obligation for media platforms to be more careful.
Watch BOOM's Govindraj Ethiraj in conversation with Manisha Kapoor on how consumer complaints against misleading ads are monitored and how the ASCI holds companies accountable on the claims they make while advertising their products.
